Current News and Opinion

Will New Government Protections Produce Fewer Mortgage Hassles?By Peter Miller, ContributorNovember 26, 2014With tens of millions of mortgages outstanding it might seem as though every possible loan question has been resolved, that the lending system would have an answer for absolutely any situation that might arise.Will Changing Lender Standards Mean Less Borrower Paperwork?By Peter Miller, ContributorNovember 25, 2014Since the first days of Wall Street Reform lenders have complained that the standards are too tight. 20 Most Affordable Markets with Good SchoolsBy Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac Vice PresidentNovember 18, 2014A RealtyTrac analysis today identified the top zip codes with the ideal combination of good schools and affordable home prices — and also with low unemployment rates below the national average.Are Real Estate Brokers An Endangered Species?By Peter Miller, ContributorNovember 17, 2014Some 18,000 people gathered in New Orleans this month to look at the future of real estate brokerage.U.S. Foreclosure Activity Increases 15 Percent in October Driven by 17-Month High in Scheduled Foreclosure AuctionsBy RealtyTrac StaffNovember 13, 2014Foreclosure filings were reported on 123,109 U.S. properties in October, an increase of 15 percent from the previous month but still down 8 percent from a year ago.Shifting Housing Demographics Could Lift Home SalesBy Octavio Nuiry, Senior Staff WriterNovember 12, 2014For decades, baby boomers drove existing homes sales. Now, shifting demographic trends are putting the brakes on home sales. Many cash-strapped millennials — saddled with high levels of student debt — are unable to purchase a home because low-paying The Coming ‘Big Shift’ in HousingBy Octavio Nuiry, Senior Staff WriterNovember 11, 2014In the next 20 years, a seismic shift will take place in residential real estate. Increasingly, America’s aging baby boomer population (born from 1946 to 1964) will begin to downsize and sell their homesAre Car Loans The Next Lending Boondoggle?By Peter Miller, ContributorNovember 10, 2014Car loans are easy to get but mortgages are tight, at least according to a lot of chatter and complaint. Judge Rejects ‘Disparate Impact’ Housing DiscriminationBy Octavio Nuiry, Senior Staff WriterNovember 10, 2014On Nov. 3, Judge Richard J. Leon of the U.S. District Court issued a scathing opinion striking down the Obama administration’s “disparate impact” regulations for the Fair Housing Act, ruling that they are inconsistent with that statute.Federal Housing Agency Loosens Mortgage RulesBy Octavio Nuiry, Senior Staff WriterNovember 9, 2014Speaking to the nation’s largest lender trade group, the government’s chief housing regulator outlined plans to reassure mortgage bankers that fear they could suffer losses on the loans they sell to the government.